The Hidden Shortcut Passages of Lyon 

Lyon - The only city where getting into traboule for opening other people's front doors is a good thing.

Tim: "The traboules!" Northern Irish viewers: *NERVIOUS TWITCH*

Imagine being a local on your way to the patisserie for your breakfast to find Tim lurking around in the alleyway.

Where have I heard that wolf Alice music used before … 😋

In the UK we call it "Breaking and Entering"

They're quite widespread here in Vienna. Called a "Durchhaus" (Through House) and usually link two sides of a large building with two neigbouring streets.

In Scotland a Traboul is called a Close or a Closey, if a Close goes under a building or an arch it is called a Pende, closes usually come off of main streets and lead to court yards, closes are historically residential areas but I the modern age you can find many hidden cafes and bars in the closeys of Edinburgh, well worth exploring the ones in Edinburgh

Playing "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift in the background is hilarious. Trouble sounds like Traboule!

These shortcuts should help me shave some time off my Lyon speedrun attempts.

The music puns in these videos are just getting better and better and I'm here for it

I appreciate how you always consider accessibility for those who might not be able to enter some places. Very thoughtful

Merci Tim d'avoir visité ma belle ville de Lyon :)

I was in Lyon in August 2020, this was my first travel after many months of staying indoors and finishing a very difficult and demanding project. Still have very fond memories of this beautiful city and was delighted to see it in the video. Thank you for your work, Tim!

I have been shown through a traboule in Lyon. This makes it the first time I have 'Tim Travelled' and seen something I had already seen for myself. And yes, there were about 15 of us, and we WERE told by our guide to keep down the chatter, "s'il vous plaît," because we were very close to people's private apartments.

I do really love how you always focus on accessibility when showing us around places. Very thoughtful to consider!

I don't really know why, but i absolutely love the idea of such compact and secret passage ways through a big city like Lyon

I lived in Lyon for 5 years when I was studying - I was already nostalgic but this makes me to go back even more! Have you had a chance to visit the miniature museum? It's also in Vieux Lyon, and has both minatures (duh) and cinema stuff, I highly recommend it!

The English city of York has the delightfully named snickelways which don't have doors, but are helpful little passageways, often often very narrow and very low

The 4th wall breaks in these scripts are easily some of my favourite parts of these videos. Please never stop cracking a "SERIOUSLY WHO WROTE THAT LINE" every once in a while XD

Nice to see my hometown being highlighted in the show! 🙏 And just to add a little bit of pedantry to the pedantry corner, the building visible at 0:15 on the right, immediately next to cathédrale Saint-Jean is the oldest in vieux Lyon (not counting the Roman vestiges in Fourvière), dating back at least to 800 AD, and possibly built on even older foundations. It’s called la Manécanterie and is now a museum.

During a student exchange program in the mid 1990s, I lived a week in La Crouix-Rousse and had almost forgotten about the Traboules, which we actually used for getting around. I still recognize some of the small courtyards with the Renaissance staircases. Thank you for reviving old memories!

Another great video. I like the way you cover topics not normally seen by visitors.

As a Lyon citizen, whenever I'm walking around in Vieux Lyon or Croix Rousse and see an open door, I can't help but try to go and see if I can go through and emerge somewhere else. Ended up in a few creepy definitely-not-traboules like this, but also some pretty nice still-probably-not-traboules :) My favorites are where you have to go up/down stairs during the "visit" (usually in croix rousse)

Hey - thanks for mentioning accessibility, that's really awesome and useful!

When in traboule, keep quiet. Always good advice. 👍🏼

You know it's Traboule when you walk in.... You're killing me with this, Tim

And of course the Tim Traveler goes to my town when I'm on vacation... 🤣 Anyway it was a great explanation and the accent at 2:14 was very funny! Thanks Tim!

I think all medieval cities have this system of passages. I know about Regensburg because in my early days in the old town I kept getting lost. - Greetings, Heinz

Wow, I think this is the earliest I have been for Tim's Videos... whoop

This is the city I'm born in, i remember i went on a school trip once in elementary school to visit theses traboules!

Love your videos! I spent my Erasmus in Lyon in 2002-2003

so well researched and presented. Thanks for this video. It enriches my knowledge of one of my favourite cities in France.

As a guy who live in Lyon, I know just few of them "the 2 or 3 popular ones" but you just showed me many that I didn't know. So it's surprise me that you know more about them then me haha but thank you for you're very interesting video!

love the crystal maze theme in the back ground Excellent.

Everytime you say "secret passage ways through people's houses" I can only think of the now somewhat obligatory scene in a comedic action movie where they enter somebody's apartment on their escape and the residents either look confused or watch TV and don't even notice

Lyon, my hometown! Thanks for visiting! There are lots of other interesting stuff you could make videos about. Did you know there are ancient secret underground tunnels under the hills of the town? But there entrance is forbidden. 😔

Hey Tim ! I'm so happy you did a video about Lyon ! Especially about the traboules. Of course, they're not as fascinating as secret passages leading to a sort of tomb, but for someone interested in the history of social movements and revolutions (like me), they can be very interesting. Last year, for a homework, I studied maps of Lyon and drawings of the Canut (local term for silk workers) revolts from 1831 to 1848, to see how the workers used the city as a tool against the army. The traboules were a great way to quickly move, out maneuver, and encircle troops. It's really possible that during the 1831 Canuts revolt, the traboules played a great role to quickly move the Canuts troops near the Town hall and encircle the Royal Troops, forcing them to retreat, and leading the workers to take control of the city. They also were a great way to quickly change from revolutionary troop to casual inhabitant, if a revolt failed. There's a lot of stories to tell with the traboules, and the fact that we can still use them is really cool.

Haha absolutely loved the Crystal Maze piano cover at 1:50, brought me right back to my childhood, God I miss that programme! 😆

Very nice rendition of Silk. Nicely done again, Tim. Interesting video!

Took me a bit to realise its Silk by Wolf Alice in the background. Love those details!

Even though I'm from Lyon I did learn a thing or two in this video, many thanks !

What an incredible subject full of mystery and intrigue!!! Thank You Tim!!!!!!! You're the best!!!

Thanks Tim, now I want to go to Lyon

This was an epic video! Very cool. And I love how you point out tips for ppl in wheelchair. Must be a personal thing. Very helpful for me and my wife.

Damn, I live in France and you really make me want to explore more of the country

Yes in Scotland (where I was born) its a close. In Sussex (where I currently live) they'd call it a twitten. (probably from betwixt and between) "If you're looking for traboule, you came to the right place" (tunes for everyday situations)

There are similar unmarked "just try a door and see what happens" passages in Krakow, either that or I did just trespass.

I'll see your secret passages through other people's buildings and raise you a legal city street through other people's building's 6 1/2 Avenue, which runs from 51st to 57th streets through the lobbies of multiple midtown Manhattan high rises.

Omg I love your channel. So many hitten treasures to explore in every city and in every country. So much history.

Love that you put Alice Wolf Silk in the background when discussing the silk trade :)

Merci! That was really interesting and some of these Traboules look beautiful! It reminded me a little about Vienna (not to be confused with Vienne, just down the river from Lyon) where many of the Höfe (courtyards) in the old town (no idea about public right of way) and have a lovely charm and pretty features. Edit: just seen several earlier posters mentioning Vienna.

Reminds me of the "Gängeviertel" in Lübeck...

During the intro sequence in all of your 2021 videos, when you pull the whistle on the monorail engine, the sound makes cracks me up EVERY TIME! I love that thing so much and it's one of my top 5 favourite videos you've made. You're a legend, bruv.

Fascinating, as always! Leave it to the French to make those little courtyards so lovely. In New York City, those types of spaces tend to look like prison yards.

This is amazing. The staircases remind me of the palaces in Naples. Have you done a vid of Naples?

Thank you for this fantastic video. I missed this for some reason but I'm glad it was recommended today. I'll look through your videos this weekend and see if there are other lost gems.

I absolutely love that you include public transportation info as well as accessibility info at the end. Thank you so much!

Lyon is now on my must-visit list. Enfin.

Feels strange to live in Lyon and learning things from a stranger. Cool video btw!

Excellent use of the Crystal Maze theme. Brilliant video as ever.

I love this man so much for putting that whistle clip in the intro

Même en temps que lyonnais la vidéo était sympa :P Merci pour le travail accompli!

The Wolf Alice Cover sends shivers down my spine

so happy to see that a RU-vidr i follow went to my city and i get to watch a video about it.

Fun video to start the day. Thanks for putting in the traboule to make this!

I visited Lyon a few years back, it was really fun going through the long traboule !

Using these would make me feel like I'm in Neil Gaiman's novel "Neverwhere" especially that one with the amazing stairway.

Hi, Lyonnais here :D it's so cool to see the Traboules on RU-vid! Though if you want real hidden tunnels with mysterious things happening in them, we have those too - Les Arêtes de Poisson. They are old tunnels build under the city, from Fouviere to Croix Rousse and well. It's forbidden to enter them bit that doesn't stop adventurous Lyonnais x)

And now I actually understand what was with all those weird passageways I've just stumbled upon while wandering through the city... :D

There is one dislike and we know that is from St Étienne.

Visited these. Nice to go back in memory.

Hi ! I live in Lyon, there's a lot of routes designed by the city (which use the indicator you show in the video) you can follow not only to discover traboules but also the history of the city. I can show you if you're interested ! Great video :)

Pedantry Corner notes/preemptions is some of the best evidence of Tim knowing us viewers.

This is beautiful! I’d love to a tour with a local guide there. Thanks once again for your inspiration

Tim that was amazing. Europe has so much history, and here in Canada if something is 100 years old, its old. So jealous. Keep up the videos.

love the use of the crystal dome music!

Ooh, this was an interesting one (well, they genuinely all are, but this one especially)! Secret passages useful for resistances are relevant to something I'm writing too! I love them. And, as always, thank you for the accessibility info. 'Beware cobblestones' made me laugh - it's absolutely right though, they are tricky. I want authorities to put 'Beware cobblestones' signs up, it just sounds so menacing in a funny way, like they're sentient and might attack.

Thank you, now I know that the word for them is traboule. Malmö in Sweden is also littered with traboules. :)

Hi Tim Traveller I ate at the restaurant shown in the first bit of the video @ 27sec mark! I also went to some of the Traboules as part of a tour of old town Lyon.

I spent one night in Lyon in 1981 and had no idea what an interesting place it is. Must go back sometime. Thanks for a fascinating video.

This was very lovely. Thank you !

i was singing along to "trouble" in the background and it wasn't until I was screaming "trouble trouble trouble" that i realised the pun.

My favorite laid-back Tim ✅ ❤️❤️❤️😜

The "trouble" joke really got me oh my fucking god

Belgium's most populous city, Antwerp, also has a number of hidden corridors called 'gangen' the most famous of which is the 16th century Vlaeykensgang. Connecting three streets, with lovely patios at the junctions, it is where yours truly and his Turkish-born husband had their wedding photos taken before heading home to Morocco (and now Vietnam). Easiest entry is through doors in Hoogstraat or Oude Koornmarkt. More common than the thru-way gangen, however, are the squares hidden at the end of a dead-end corridor called 'plaatsen' (simply 'places') of which Sint-Nicolaasplaats may be the most famous but Bontwerkersplaats is the most beautiful. Enter through Wolstraat 37. Oh, and Antwerp is only two hours by train from Paris, but I recommend the night bus for those on a shoestring.

One of the best content producers on RU-vid

That actually looks cool! It adds mystery to the place you're walking around in. Those who know where the shortcuts are could probably dodge people running after them. If this was in a video game, I'd be confused as to where to explore XD.

Nice video as always! Thank you!

You were right outside my front door! (Had I stepped out and found you there'd have been traboule) Seeing those stalls in the Place St-Jean you must have been here literally days ago. Best time to visit the traboules is morning, as many of the doors are automatically unlocked on a timer for La Poste. Those that aren't often have a service button but although some will immediately unlock the door, others might buzz somebody and really annoy them. Trying your luck with some of the many dozens of doors on rue St-Jean, amidst the many opulent beautiful courtyards you may also stumble on some really grotty hideous dens with rats scurrying around. But that's the traboule gamble. Bonne chance!

As the video started I was a bit underwhelmed as we have something just like it in Novi Sad / Újvidék - old houses with large yards were divided up into several real estates and you use one gate or door to enter a now paved yard that is more like a half-closed street with shops for the most part. But Lyon has had the Troubles for centuries and has a bit of history, so yes, that is a nice find!

I love how you explain how to get to these places

This video opens up new doors into Lyon, literally!! I have visited many times, looking forward to the next visit. Enjoyed the video, merci beaucoup Tim.

3:10 those old red majestic walls, those windows molding, those plants, and that light coming from the sky

How about the Story of Alsace and Lorraine. That would be interesting if you tell the story of these 2 région of France 🟦⬜🟥🇫🇷

There's passageways like this in my city too (Chambéry, about 1 hour east of Lyon), but here they're called "passage". Troubles, err, traboules, stay in Lyon ;-) I hope you have / had a great time there, it's a great city and I'm sure you can find quite a lot of thing to do videos about.

Thanks Tim, this will come in handy when planning my next bank heist in Lyon.

Wow, interesting that other cities have thes, too. They are really impressive. I grew up in Leipzig and we have those traboules called "Passage" The most famous one owns the entry staircase to Auerbachs Keller (Faust). They where build to sell goods. And of course there is a list of the pompous passages on wikipedia when you search after "Liste der Leipziger Passagen".

Lviv, Ukraine has somewhat similar passages as well. Visited there a couple of years ago, and plan on travelling there soon!

Salzburg old town center also has such shortcuts through buildings and they are fully exploited as public spaces with shop front windows, mainly jewellers.

Brilliant, and fascinating as always 👏